Cherry Willow Apparel

The Supreme Court of the United States heard the case City of Grants Pass v. Johnson on April 22nd, 2024. A decision will be made by June 30th.  What is this case?  This case will essentially decide if cities have the right to criminalize homelessness. Currently, the rights of homeless citizens are protected under the Eighth Amendment based on the ruling of a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals in 2018.  In the 2018 decision of Martin v. the City of Boise, the panel of judges ruled that  "the Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of criminal penalties for sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public property for homeless individuals who cannot obtain shelter." The city of Grants Pass Located in southern Oregon, about 2 hours south of Eugene and 5 hours north of Sacramento, it has a population of approximately 39,0000 people, including approximately 600 homeless people. The city is like many other cities in this country in that it does not have enough sh...

  Custom Donations We are looking to collect certain items to distribute to people experiencing homelessness in addition to what the shelters can provide. We aim to redistribute the excess already out there and not add to the waste so often generated by corporations in this country, particularly those in the fast fashion industry. Most people experiencing homelessness need clean clothes. Living on the street can be difficult, as can maintaining hygiene due to the lack of access to showers and laundry facilities. Any items donated will be distributed through local shelters and other outreach programs. Any blank apparel items we can print on will be printed with the Cherry Willow Apparel logo and given to local retailers to raise funds in their community. Winter clothing, especially in areas like Chicago and other midwest cities with large populations of people experiencing homelessness, is of enormous importance. Anything from thermal underwear to sweatshirts and jackets to gloves...

The Way Home     When it comes to dealing with homelessness in the United States, I would argue that we approach it in the wrong way, just like we do with many other problems in this country. That is because, in this country, we value money more than anything else. If the solution to the problem doesn't involve someone getting filthy rich, it won't likely be seen as a priority. The traditional method for addressing homelessness is to invest in creating shelters and beds for those impacted. Once people are in the shelters, we seek to provide individuals with resources to improve their standing in society and get a higher-paying job so they can afford to rent a place to live. This may sound like a good idea in theory, but there are better places to work on yourself than the shelter. There is virtually no privacy as you are constantly surrounded by people, most of whom have not chosen to be there. Tensions can get high, and sometimes things get physical, so finding space to work ...

                                            How did we get here? Have you ever asked yourself, “How did I get here?” I know I certainly have at times. Whether it was something as simple as zoning out while going somewhere or more of an in-depth question about how I ended up in a bad circumstance, this is a question that has come up in my life. When I look at the question, “How did we get to the current homeless crisis in the United States?” Through talking with people who have worked in the shelters, I came up with a conclusion of multiple factors. In my opinion, the primary driver is a capitalistic society that only values people for their ability to generate a profit for someone else. In a capitalistic society, to be employable, you have to serve a role that produces more value than what your employer is willing to pay you. That is how the employer mak...

  The System Is Broken My first experience volunteering came when I was in my youth. I was raised Catholic, and my mother was passionate about giving back and helping others. She came from a lower middle-class family where things were never easy, and she had a lot of responsibilities around the house and caring for her younger siblings from an early age. She was very involved in the Church and involved her two youngest sons (my brother & I) in her efforts. My first volunteering experience that I remember was serving food for migrant workers. If you are unfamiliar with migrant workers, they typically move to a new country or region to find work and save money to return to their families. Imagine the level of sacrifice that is required to move to an entirely new country just to find the opportunity to provide for your family, all the while not getting to see them or communicate with them outside of an occasional phone call or letter (before the days of cell phones & facetim...

  Numbers Don't Lie Homelessness in the US increased by 12% in 2023, reaching a total of 653,104 people on the streets or in shelters. The US has over 15 million unoccupied residences (either home or rental units). One solution I can think of would be to house the individuals experiencing homelessness in unoccupied homes and have the government guarantee the rent to the homeowners (similar to section 8). This policy would incentivize property owners to find tenants among the people experiencing homelessness for their unoccupied dwellings so they could start making some money in the form of rent from the government. Doing this would enable people who are homeless not to have to worry about finding shelter and how they will make it through today, and perhaps allow them to build a life for themselves from a stable foundation. In Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking Fast & Slow” he highlights the increase in happiness that an individual receives when their basic needs (food, shelter...

Biking California Biking is a passion of mine, and it's also one of the main ways that people who are homeless get around. My goal in biking and serving in shelters will be to illustrate and capture the conditions that hundreds of thousands of homeless people experience daily. I want to tell their stories and show people that almost anyone could find themselves on the streets. Often, the people who are homeless I encounter are some of the friendliest, most positive people I meet. Their ability to maintain positive attitudes despite their circumstances, leaving them with little reason to be, is inspiring! The idea to bike from Sacramento to San Diego, California, was inspired by one of my college friends who rollerbladed across the country to raise money for No Kid Hungry. At the time, I had no idea how he could do it, let alone think I could plan a trip like that myself. One thing I did know is that I was envious of his purpose and his freedom. He found a way to help many peo...